Posted on 10/15/2004 10:35:48 AM PDT by agenda_express
Black Felons who want to vote are crucial to Election
Date: Thursday, October 14, 2004
By: SHERREL WHEELER STEWART, BlackAmericaWeb.com
Felons who are barred from voting by criminal disenfranchisement laws could hold the key to presidential victories in major battleground states, according to a BlackAmericaWeb.com analysis.
In several states where neither President George W. Bush nor Democratic challenger John Kerry hold a secure margin in the polls, the votes of prisoners, inmates, those on probation, parole or former felons could change the outcome – that is if they could vote. A disproportionate number of the disenfranchised are black.
Blacks account for two-thirds of the disenfranchised felons in both Ohio and Pennsylvania and about half of the disenfranchised felons in Tennessee. Those three states alone account for 52 electoral votes.
The analysis, based on data collected by Chris Uggen and Jeff Manza in a report entitled “Democratic Contraction? Political Consequences of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States,” shows that Florida, with its strict laws on felon voting, has the highest number of blacks who can’t vote because they are serving time or have served time in past.
A total of 256,392 disenfranchised black felons in Florida can’t cast their ballots on Nov. 2. That number accounts for 16 percent of the black vote, according to 2000 data. A total of 27 electoral votes are on the line in Florida. That’s the state Bush won by only 537 votes that year.
The battleground states are targets for both major presidential camps because they have a high percentage of voters without strong party affiliations. They also account for more than 40 percent of the Electoral College votes.
Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Missouri, Oregon, Wisconsin, Iowa, New Hampshire and New Mexico account for 117 votes in the Electoral College. Other states such as Tennessee, Arkansas, Colorado and Michigan with a total of 43 electoral votes also are often considered battlegrounds.
In some of those states, more than 2 percent of the voters are disenfranchised, that could be enough to tip the Electoral College.
“The impact of disenfranchised felons would be greatest in states where the margin is narrow between the Republican and Democrat candidate,” Uggen told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
“Nationwide, we’re talking about 5 million disenfranchised felons, and 2 million of those are African-American,” he said.
The large numbers of black, brown and poor people could produce more votes, especially for the Democratic candidate, he said.
The concerns of former felons can help shift the debate, said Dee Hawkins-Haigler of America’s Families United. The Washington-based organization has linked with several others to help encourage former felons to register and vote.
“They [former felons] are concerned about domestic spending and sending jobs overseas. They are concerned about welfare reform,” she said.
The level of political participation for former felons varies, Uggen said.
“Some are more active politically once they are released and have their rights restored,” he said. “Others may stay away from the polls, especially when they are not certain if their rights have been restored. They don’t want to face the humiliation of showing up to vote and being turned away.”
Some states notify felons when their right to vote has been restored and others just leave it up to individuals to learn about the process for restoring their rights.
The NAACP, the National Bar Association and several other organizations have stepped up efforts to educate felons on their rights.
In Nashville, Tenn., the NAACP went into two Metro Davidson County Jails last month and registered 250 inmates who were eligible to vote. Several of those people had not been charged with a felony.
In Tennessee 6.6 percent of the black voters are disenfranchised.
“We went in to the jail because the NAACP wants to make certain that everyone who has a right to vote has an opportunity to register and vote,” said Margaret C. Scrivens, secretary of the Metro Davidson County NAACP.
A conservative Nashville talk show host accused the organization of going into the jails and registering voters for John Kerry.
“That is not true,” Scrivens said. “NAACP is non partisan. Our goal is to encourage people to register to vote and go to the polls.”
Naomi Long, field director for the Washington-based Drug Policy Alliance, said restoring voting rights is essential in getting former prisoners re-established in society.
In many cases, some of these people should not have been incarcerated in the first place for the kind of crime that was committed, she said.
“You get them back into society and they have to pay taxes. They should have the right to vote,” said Long.
One of these @ssclowns stole my car so now I can't vote!
“They [former felons] are concerned about domestic spending and sending jobs overseas. They are concerned about welfare reform,” she said.
Yes, I am sure they need welfare reform, so their children and spouses left behind have a way to survive.
I encourage everyone to go to the link and view some of the opions expressed in the forum of Blackamerica.com. The justifications and misunderstandings are very sad. There is even one person stating it is wrong for prisoners to have to pay taxes! I suppose they should have no hand in consinuing to support THEIR country as well? This truely shows that the democratic party wants votes, no matter what the cost.
I DO NOT WANT A CONVICTED SEX OFFENDED VOTING ON POLITICIANS THAT ARE LAX ON PORNOGRAPHY...GET THE PICTURE????
Your damned right their concerned about Welfare Reform, how else are they gonna get by without getting real jobs!!!!!
"Yes, let's let felons decide this election. They have proved their ability to make the correct life choices."
Let see....giving aid and comfort to the enemy; making false statements on an official document; perjury, etc., etc.
Given the circumstances and the quality of their candidate--JF'inK, I think it might be appropriate for the felons to vote for one of their own.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.